Sole and method of shaping soles



Feb. 4, 1941. E. E. WINKLEY SOLE AND METHOD OF SHAPING SOLES Filed Jan. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 4, 1941. E. E. WINKLEY SOLE AND METHOD OF SHAPING SOLES Filed Jan. 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 as v //vv/vm/7 Ti 5W Feb. 4, 1941. WINKLEY 2,230367 SOLE AND METHOD OF SHAPING SOLES Filed Jan. 24, 1958 v 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 T1810 64 g 68 l es 30 Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SOLE AND METHOD OF SHAPING SOLES Jersey Application January 24, 1938, Serial No. 186,585 In Great Britain December 8, 1937 9 Claims.

This invention relates to soles and improvements in methods of shaping soles and is illustrated herein with reference to soles adapted for use in making shoes having close edges.

In order that in such shoes the outside margins may be made to lie close to the upper, especially in the shank, the soles, as in the case of the shoemak-ing method disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,034,718, granted Mar-ch 24, 10 1936, upon an application of A. Eppler, may be provided with a central bulged portion which, upon :being depressed against the shoe bottom after the sole is permanently attached to the shoe, as by stitching for example, provides a sufficient surplus of sole material to enable the margins of the sole to be bent into close contact with .the upper and to obviate .any tendency for the sole edge to separate from the upper during the use of the shoe.

The general object of the invention is to provide improved soles adapted for use in connection with the shoemaking practice mentioned above and improved methods of making such soles.

Accordingly, .the invention in one aspect provides a method of shaping soles which consists in displacing a central or intramarginal area of a sole with respect to portions of the sole surrounding the central area toward and beyond the normal transverse curvature of the sole, the lastmentioned portions of the sole being clamped during this operation so that they are relieved of any tendency to be stretched and hence may be easily and permanently made to conform to 3 the shape of the adjacent portions of the upper by the sole leveling operation.

This method may be carried out so as to provide a bulge in the central portion of a sole at 40 any locality longitudinally of the sole as in the shank or forepart or both, but it has been found that, especially in connection With soles adapted for shoes in which the angular relation of the forepart and shank is pronounced, the surplus sole material resulting from the bulge is needed to a greater extent at the junction between the forepart and shank than elsewhere.

Accordingly, the invention contemplates in the practice of a method of the type referred to above, in which portions of the shank or forepart are operated upon in addition to an area of the sole at the junction between the shank and forepart, displacing the latter portion of the sole to a greater extent than any other part of the bulged portion of the sole in order to provide the greater surplus of sole material at the junction of the shank and forepart.

In another aspect, the invention also provides improved soles adapted for use in making shoes having close edges and characterized by a 5 bulge in excess of the normal transverse curvature of the sole formed in an intr-amarginal portion of the sole including the junction of the forepart and shank. Thus, .an excess of sole material is available at the locality where it is most needed to permit the sole margins of most shoes, and especially those having a pronounced angle between the forepart and shank, to be permanently positioned close to the adjacent .portions of the upper. However, it is to be under- 15 stood that the invention also comprehends soles in which the bulge is located in an intramarginal portion of the forepart extending, if desired, across the ball line and still other soles in which the bulged portion extends across the junction .of the shank and forepart into the shank in which latter case the heightwise or Widthwise extent of the bulged portion may advantageously be greater at the junction of the shank and forepart than elsewhere.

An improved machine and forms adapted for use in the production of soles of the type disclosed herein and operable in accordance with the above'methods are not claimed herein but are made the subject-matter of a divisional application, Serial No. 247,241, filed December 22, 1938.

These and other features of the invention will appear more fully from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of an illustrative machine adapted to form soles of the type referred to above in accordance with the method of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a part of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 associated with the lower form;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view illustrating the relation between a sole and the sole shaping instrumentalities when the latter are in their operative positions;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view, the section being 50 taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View, the section being taken along the line VV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a. sectional view, the section being taken along the line VIVI in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a lasted shoe partly in section illustrating the relation between one form of sole shaped in accordance with the invention and the shoe bottom prior to .the leveling operation;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a part of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 7 the section being taken along the line VIIIVIII in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation illustrating the adjustment of one of the sole bulging members whereby its action may be confined to the portion of the sole at the junction of the shank and forepart;

Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation illustrating an alternative form of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the forepart portion of the lower form illustrated in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the part of the upper form of Fig. 10 which cooperates with the structure illustrated in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary View of the side of a shoe partly in section having French edges illustrating the relation between a sole made in accordance with the present invention and the shoe bottom before the shoe is leveled, and

Fig. 14 is a sectional view of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 13, the section being taken across the forepart after the leveling operation.

A machine of the type in which the present invention is illustrated herein as embodied is completely disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,939,750, granted December 19, 1933, upon application of E. E. Winkley, to which reference may be made for a complete description of corresponding parts in the present machine referred to: below and accordingly only such parts of the machine as are necessary for an understanding of the invention will be described herein. Parts of the illustrated machine which will be readily identified in the above-mentioned Winkley patent comprise tables l0, l2 above which are mounted for movement toward and away there-from clamps l4, l6, these tables and clamps in the illustrated machine being arranged, as in the patented machine, to hold novel lower and upper forms 18 and 20, which as will be more fully described below, are adapted to grip a sole and to form or to contribute to the formation of a bulge in an intramarginal portion of the sole clamped between them. The lower form 18 has integral forepart, shank and heel part portions and is rigidly supported against the pressure of the upper form 20 by the tables l0 and 12.

A sole to be operated upon is placed grain side down on a rubber blanket 22 covering the upper surface of the form l8 with the edge of the sole in contact with gages 24, 28 and 28 (Fig. 2) which indicate the desired position of the sole both lengthwise and widthwise of the form. Atthis time, as will be understood by reference to the above-mentioned Winkley patent, the form 18 occupies a position below and in front of the form 20 for the sake of convenience to the operator in placing soles on the form [8. Upon treadling the machine, the form I8 is swung to a position directly underneath the form 20 and then the clamps l4 and I6 descend together to cause the form 20 to exert a clamping pressure against the sole. Shortly thereafter a plunger 30 having connected thereto a novel bulge forming member 32 by means of pivotal connections, similar to those to be found in the above Winkley machine, is moved downwardly through a recess 34 in the form 20 to displace the portion of the sole included within the recess into another similar recess 36 in the lower form I8, thereby forming a bulge in the sole extending from its outer or tread surface as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Since it is diflioult to obtain a close edge in a shoe, particularly at a point just behind the junction of the forepart and shank, it is desirable to form the bulge in at least the part of the sole which is opposite to the above-mentioned part of the sole edge. Because the boundary between the shank and the forepart is generally in the shape of a V the vertex of which is behind the boundary at the sole edge, the above-mentioned requirement as to the position of the bulge is satisfied by forming the bulge in the central part of the Sole somewhat behind the ball line in the vicinity of the junction of the shank and forepart. Accordingly, the recesses 34, 36 through which the bulging member 32 is moved, extend into the vicinity of the junction of the forepart and shank of a sole properly located therebetween, and the width of the recesses, which is the greatest at this point, progressively diminishes toward the middle of the shank portions of the forms. The recesses 34, 36 of the forms illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 extend rearwardly thereof to a point corresponding substantially to the heel breast line of the sole, the width of the recesses progressively increasing slightly from the middle of the shank portions of the forms rearwardly. Thus, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, the contour of the recesses as viewed in plan conforms generally to the contour of the sole edge, the marginal portions of the forms bordering upon the recesses providing supporting or clamping surfaces which grip opposite faces of marginal portions of the sole shank with respect to which the unsupported central portion within the recesses is displaced to form a bulge, as will presently be described. Transversely of the lower form l8 the shape of its marginal supporting surfaces varies from a relatively abrupt curvature at the rear portion of the shank, as indicated by Fig. 6, to more gradual curvatures toward its forward end, as indicated by Figs. 4 and 5.

The upper form 20 is provided with downwardly extending .lips 38 bordering upon the forward portion of the recess 34 and the lower surfaces of which are substantially complementary to the opposite surfaces of the form l8, as indicated in Fig. 4, whereby a certain preliminary bulging effect is produced in the sole in the vicinity of the junction between the forepart and shank when clamping pressure is applied to the sole. The shank portions of the forms [8, 20 are curved longitudinally, as indicated by Fig. 1, so as to impart the desired longitudinal curvature to the shank of the sole, and, owing to the jog between the shank and forepart portions of the forms, a corresponding shape is imparted to the sole which is referred to hereinafter as the break in the sole which is necessary to make it fit the shoe bottom because of the usual angle between the forepart and shank portions of the shoe bottom.

The lowermost portions of the lips 38 which first engage the sole, as well as the highest parts of the shank portion of the lower forms l8 and 44, are in each case disposed at the same level and these parts of each form also are directly opposite each other, that is, at the same distance from an end of the form. similarly, the shoulders at the junction of the shank and heel parts of the upper forms'20 and 50 extend directly, rather than obliquely, across the forms and are at the parallel lines extending transversely of the sole and except for the portion of the sole which is bulged, or partially bulged by the lips 38, the sole is bent so that all lines extending directly across it are parallel to each other during and at the end of the downward movement of the upper forms 25 and 55. Thus, any tendency of the swing of the sole to be altered, as would occur by bending it along a line extending obliquely across it, is avoided.

A sole now having been clamped between the forms I 8 and 20, the plunger 30 is lowered to cause the bulging member 32 to displace the portion of the sole within the recesses with respect to the clamped portions of the sole toward and beyond its normal transverse curvature in a finished shoe, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8, to form a bulge extending from the outer surface of the sole. The member 32 comprises a central web 40 the width of which progressively increases from its mid portion toward its ends which are relatively bulbous, the peripheral or side and end surfaces of the member 32 being substantially parallel to the contour of the recesses 34, 36. The longitudinal curvature of the lower surface of the member 32 is concavely curved substantially parallel to the longitudinal curvature of the forms I 8, 25 except at the forward end of the member 32 where it is considerably lower than elsewhere relatively to the upper surface of the lips 38 so that the heightwise extent of the bulge in the sole is greater in the vicinity of the junction of the shank and forepart than elsewhere when the member 32 is in its normal position of adjustment, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

It will now be observed that the bulge in the sole is formed without substantially stretching or flexing the marginal portions of the shank surrounding the bulged portion whereby the former portions of the sole are left in a better condition than they otherwise would be to be bent into close contact with the shoe upper when the bulge is flattened by the leveling operation.

The desired angular relation between the bulging member 32 and the forms I8, 20 is obtained by an adjustment comprising a screw 42 the head of which is arranged to engage a shoulder 43 on the plunger 30 and which is threaded into the member 32, Thus, by turning the screw 52 in or out of the member 32 the latter may be swung with respect to the plunger 3|] into the desired angular relation to the forms.

This adjustment may be employed, as indicated in Fig. 9, to adapt the machine for forming a bulge in the sole only in the vicinity of the junction of the forepart and shank, or by changing this adjustment any variation between the conditions represented by Figs. 3 and 9 may be obtained. Fig. 9 illustrates the member 32 as having been swung toward the extremity of its possible counterclockwise movement with respect to the plunger by turning the screw 42 out of the member 32. As a result of this adjustment assuming that the machine has also been adjusted, as explained in the above-mentioned Winkley patent, to terminate the downward movement of the member 32 as soon as its rear portion reaches the sole, only the forward bulbous end of the member 32 has any appreciable effect upon the sole thereby providing a sole having a bulge which is limited substantially to the area of the vicinity of the junction of the forepart and shank.

By the use of the structure described above, a bulge may be formed in a sole only at the junction of the forepart of the shank or the bulge may, depending upon the adjustment of the bulging member 32, be made to extend from the ball line of the sole rearwardly thereof as far as may be desired toward or to the heel breast line. In some types of shoes however, such, for example, as those having French edges (Figs. 13 and 14), it may be desirable to have the bulge in the sole extend forwardly of the ball line well into the forepart. The term French edge as employed herein is intended to refer to the close joint between the upper and the sole edge of a shoe, the margin of the sole of which has been bent definitely out of the plane of the remainder of the shoe bottom so as to close the gap commonly known as the welt crease as applied to a welt shoe.

For the production of bulged soles of the type referred to above, the invention provides mechanism comprising a form 44 adapted to be supported by the tables l0 and I2 the shank and heel part of which form are substantially like the corresponding parts of the form I 8. The form 44 also has an intramarginal recess 45 in its shank portion similar to the recess 35 in the form I8. The forepart of the form 44 has a recess 48 the depth of which progressively increases rearwardly of the form and the margins of which merge with the rounded surfaces of the shank portions of the form which border upon the recess 45. As illustrated in Fig. 11 the contour of the edge of the recess 48 in plan is substantially parallel to the sole edge although exactness in this relation is not essential. An upper form 50 carried by the clamps l4 and I5 and having a shank and heel part similar to those of the form 20 is arranged to cooperate with the lower form 44 to grip the heel part of the sole and a marginal area of the sole bordering upon the recesses 45 and 48 of the form 44. After a sole has been gripped between the forms 44 and 5B the plunger 30 and bulging member 32 are lowered to form a bulge in the sole as described above and the central portion of the forepart of the sole is displaced into the recess 48 by mechanism which will now be described. This operation on the forepart of the sole is effected by a pad 52 the sole engaging surface of which is substantially complementary to the shape of the recess 43 the pad being hinged on a pin 54 to the form 55. The pad 52 is operated during the latter part of the downward movement of the plunger 30 by connections'gomprising a rod 55 pivoted at 58 to the rear end of the pad 52 and at its upper end is guided so as to have a substantially vertical movement by a strap 65 which is fixed to the upper surface of the form 50. As the bulging member 32 approaches the sole the upper end of the rod 55 is engaged by a screw 62 which, to permit its vertical adjustment, is threaded in an arm 54 mounted on the plunger 30 by means of a screw 36. The arm 64 is adapted to be freely swung, so as to avoid striking the rod 56 in case it is desired not to operate the pad 52, and by the adjustment of the screw 62 the pad may be moved downwardly to any required extent. A spring 68 connecting the pad and the form 50 is arranged normally to urge the form in a counter-clockwise direction away from the form 44.

It will now be apparent that by the use of the structure illustrated in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, a sole may be produced having a bulge confined to the forepart as a result of adjusting the screw 62 so that when the plunger 30 is at the lower extremity of its movement the pad 52 is operated to press the portion of the sole into the recess 48. In this case, it will be necessary to limit the travel of the plunger 30 (by making the adjustment referred to above) so that the bulging member 32 does not engage the sole. Similarly, as in the case of the use of the forms of the type illustrated in Fig. 3, the bulging member may be angularly adjusted with respect to the plunger 30 so as to operate in conjunction with the pad 52 only at the junction of the forepart and shank. Then too, by employing the bulging member 32 in its normal position of adjustment, such as that illustrated in Fig. in connection with the pad 52, the sole will be provided with a bulge extending from the heel breast line substantially to the toe end of the sole. A sole of the latter type is illustrated in Fig. 13 as applied to the bottom of a shoe which is to have French edges, and which as illustrated by Fig. 14, are formed by bending a narrow marginal area of the sole rather sharply with respect to the central portion of the sole into close contact with the adjacent portions of the upper. This bending of the margins of the sole is greatly facilitated by the excess of sole material which is made available when the bulged portion of the sole in the forepart is pressed into contact with the shoe bottom during the leveling operation.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of shaping soles which consists in clamping portions of the shank and forepart of a sole surrounding a central area of the sole extending lengthwise thereof across the junction of the forepart and shank, and displacing said central area of the sole with respect to the clamped portion of the sole toward and beyond its normal transverse curvature in a finished shoe, the said central area of the sole at the junction of the forepart and shank being displaced more than the remainder of the said central area of the sole, thereby to provide a bulge extending from the outer face of the sole which is greatest at the junction of the forepart and shank.

2. That improvement in methods of shaping soles which consists in clamping the margins of the shank and portions of the fore and heel parts of a sole which surround a central area thereof extending from the shank into the forepart, and displacing the said central area of the sole to impart a transverse curvature thereto which exceeds its normal transverse curvature, the portion of the central area of the sole in the vicinity of the ball line being displaced substantially more than the remainder of the said central portion of the sole thereby to produce a bulge extending from the outer face of the sole in its unclamped central area which is greatest in the vicinity of the ball line.

3. That improvement in methods of shaping soles which consists in forming a transverse break in the sole between the forepart and shank, and displacing a central area of the sole including said break with respect to marginal areas of the sole surrounding said central area toward and beyond its normal transverse curvature in a finished shoe to form a bulge in the said central area of the sole.

4. That improvement in methods of shaping soles which consists in forming a transverse break in the sole between its forepart and shank portions, clamping portions of the shank and forepart bordering upon a central area of the sole extending lengthwise of the shank across said break into the forepart, and displacing the unclamped central area of the sole beyond its normal transverse curvature to form a bulge in the sole, the central area of the sole being displaced more in the vicinity of said break than elsewhere.

5. That improvement in methods of shaping soles which consists in clamping portions of a sole surrounding a central portion of the forepart and shank portions thereof, and displacing the said central portion of the sole toward and beyond its normal transverse curvature with respect to the clamped portions thereof, the part of the said central portion of the sole at the junction of the forepart and shank being displaced more than the remainder thereof thereby to produce a bulge extending from the outer face of the sole which is greatest at the junction of the 'forepart and shank.

6. A sole for use in the manufacture of shoes having a bulge formed in an intramarginal portion of the shank of the sole and extending a substantial distance into the forepart, the margins of the shank being concave longitudinally of the sole at one surface thereof, the bulged portion of the sole transversely thereof being convexly curved at said surface in excess of its normal transverse curvature.

'7. A sole for use in the manufacture of shoes having a bulge formed in an intramarginal portion of the sole and extending longitudinally thereof from the shank of the sole well beyond the junction of the shank and forepart, the height of the bulge being greater at the junction of the shank and forepar-t than elsewhere.

8. A sole for use in the manufacture of shoes having a bulge formed in an intramarginal portion of the shank and extending substantially from the heel breast line into the vicinity of the ball line, the width of the bulged portion of the sole progressively increasing from the central portion of the shank toward each end thereof.

9. That improvement in methods of shaping soles which consists in gripping portions of a 3019 at opposite faces thereof surrounding a central area of the sole, and displacing the said central area of the sole with respect to the gripped portions thereof toward and beyond its normal transverse curvature in a finished shoe to form a bulge in the sole extending from the outer face thereof.

ERASTUS E. WINKLEY. 

